12
The day went by far too quickly. I was welcomed by the members of the camp. None of them asked about my time away, but I got the sense they were concerned. It didn’t feel like they were ignoring it, but rather they were afraid to upset me. I wasn’t used to others being worried about me. It honestly made me a little uncomfortable.
My cheeks hurt from smiling, but I was able to sneak off alone for a few minutes as everyone prepared for the bonfire. Even Kyle was distracted by the ordeal. Like me, he wasn’t used to such spectacle, and I could see the excitement in his eyes.
As the day faded into twilight, I could feel my wolf growing more restless. She knew it was time for us to make this thing official. I hoped we connected quickly and that I’d gain control of when I shifted without too much practice. After finding out that wolves shifted as early as thirteen outside Wolf Creek, it made me feel like I was already behind.
From the little bench I was sitting on, I watched as the members of the camp threw on more logs and started laying food out on long picnic tables. It was going to be a hell of a party.
Alec appeared in the crowd, smiling and chatting with the shifters he walked by. I hadn’t seen him all day and my stomach did an annoying flip at the sight of him. After learning about what he’d done, I still wasn’t sure how I felt about him. I supposed I was less angry. It came from a good place, but it resulted in me having another week of trauma. I didn’t deserve that. Nobody did.
From across the way, his eyes found mine. I tensed and considered my next steps. Part of me wanted to dart off, continue avoiding him. But I realized that was a bit childish. I was going to have to deal with him, and eventually, I’d have to figure out what my heart really wanted.
He strolled over to me, moving at a pace so slow, I thought maybe he wanted me to flee. I held my ground. “How are you feeling?” I half-shouted as he approached. I wanted to get the first word in. Okay, so I’m sort of childish. What was it about this man that made me feel so unhinged?
“Better,” he said. “I’ll probably be good as new by tomorrow.” He stopped in front of me, and the air between us felt heavy with tension. I missed our easy connection and conversation. I even missed when we used to snap at each other.
“I wish I could run with you tonight,” he said.
“Your wolf isn’t ready yet?” I was a little surprised.
“I’m starting to feel him, but I’m not optimistic,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I’ll watch from the sidelines. Maybe I’ll get a run with you another time,” he said.
“Sure,” I agreed.
“Kyle said he talked to you,” he said.
“When did you and Kyle become so chummy?” I asked.
“Since he saved my life.”
“Ouch.” His comment was clearly a dig about how he’d saved my life. He’d also handed me over to my pack to be tortured. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Remember how I asked you to trust me?” he asked. “
“Yeah,” I affirmed.
“I always had your best interest in mind. Even if I didn’t go about it the best way,” he said.
“That almost sounded like an apology,” I pointed out.
He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, as if second guessing himself.
“You and I can’t fix what’s broken between us if you’re keeping things from me,” I warned.
“Can it be fixed?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“You know why you need to do the spell,” he said. “You’ll do it, right? You can’t move forward with that claim intact. Your father is going to get you killed.”
“I know.” I knew he was right, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to agree to it so quickly. It made sense, but I’d never been thrilled with the idea of magic or witches. Magic kept me locked up in Wolf Creek and I thought it had prevented me from shifting. Turned out, that was all the bad luck of having a criminal for a father.
A horn blared and we both turned toward the sound.